OAKWOOD — Patti Doss-Luna is leaving Oakwood again, but this time, it’s for good.

The longtime assistant city manager is retiring effective Thursday, wrapping up a career that began in 1985 with her walking in City Hall simply needing a job.

“I came without any (government) experience. I was recently married, had a new baby and (then City Manager Jimmy McCauley) hired me as a city clerk,” Doss-Luna said in her interview last week.

“Back then, we weren’t nearly as busy as we are today. We probably had eight months of busy time and four months of off time,” she said. “... I had an (IBM) Selectric typewriter, a calculator and that was it.”

Much has changed in the city, as well, over her tenure, which was interrupted by one year when she moved to South Carolina on her ex-husband’s job transfer.

When she started, the city had just bid out its first sewer project, a line along Mundy Mill Road.

“Once the construction was done was really when all of the development started taking place,” said Doss-Luna, a Hall native. “And you can see what has transpired on Mundy Mill Road and how the sewer has expanded.”

Over the years, commercial growth has sprawled on both sides of Interstate 985, which straddles the city.

The growth now has extended down Winder Highway, with the city putting in a new sewer line that will stretch to the Braselton sewer system in Jackson County.

Mundy Mill has gone from a country two-lane road to four lanes — and bigger, counting turn lanes — from McEver Road to Atlanta Highway. Winder Highway is four lanes from Atlanta Highway to Ga. 211/Old Winder Highway.

Much of the work came about because of a $75 million reconstruction project at I-985.

The city has another Department of Transportation project under way — the completion of the four-lane Thurmon Tanner Parkway from Plainview to Mundy Mill roads.

“We’ve gone from 30 businesses to over 300,” said Doss-Luna, 51.

Also, the population grew to 3,970 from 700. With a new apartment complex online, officials believe that number has easily topped 4,000.

The city “was small and everybody kind of knew everybody,” Doss-Luna said, recalling her early years with Oakwood.

“We’ve really grown, but we tried to maintain that whole sense of community and caring about our residents.”

She has worked under City Manager Stan Brown since 2004. She has several support duties, such as finance and human resources, but she also has served as a familiar face to residents.

“I grew up here, so I dabble in a little bit of everything,” Doss-Luna said.

She served as the city’s sole planner until Larry Sparks arrived as city planner six years ago. Sparks retired from Oakwood last month after 38 years in public service.

Also, Doss-Luna filled in as city manager three different times so Brown could fulfill deployments overseas as a U.S. Air Force reservist.

Some retirement plan changes got her thinking about her future.

“I told Stan three or four months ago that I was going to do this,” Doss-Luna said.

She paused for a moment.

“It’s hard (leaving). I’m excited, but this is my family too. This is my extended family and I really care about them. I care about the city, so it’s not something I’ve taken lightly.”

She doesn’t expect to be jumping into anything new or big right away.

“I think I’m going to rest and spend some time with my family,” Doss-Luna said.

She might do some volunteer work at her church and some “community involvement on a couple of communities.”

Eventually, “I might do some consulting work,” she added. “I love small cities and I think I might have something to offer (them). ... They want to function like a large city and a lot of times, they don’t know how to make that happen.”

Brown has said he doesn’t plan to hurry up finding her replacement.

“There’s a potential we may do a little restructuring since we have these vacancies,” he said, referring also to Sparks’ retirement. “... We may end up with an assistant city manager position, but then again, it may turn into a different position.”

Doss-Luna said she is confident Oakwood will stay on a solid path, citing Oakwood 2030, the city’s long-range plan for growth around the city’s center.

“The vision was the same really (years ago) as it is today — it was always a big vision,” she said.